Guernsey, Drone destroyed and £1500 fine for operator – sUAS News

Dane Wicks (27) had a flyaway in Guernsey that left him out of pocket and without a drone. Guernsey is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy, France.

Mr Wicks pleaded guilty yesterday to using a surveillance drone within 150 metres of a congested area on 21st May 2017. That congested area was Guernsey Airport, and within 50 metres of a structure not under his control, that structure, a hanger owned by Aiglle Flight Support.

His flyaway ended up next to a parked VIP jet. Something there will be plenty of on Guernsey.

The judge fined Mr Wicks £1500 ($1975) and ordered that his drone is destroyed.

There was no SD card in the drone when it was found and at the time Ports, general manager Colin Le Ray said that, ‘Unauthorised use of drones within two nautical miles of Guernsey and Alderney Airports represents a significant risk to aircraft operations, and we would strongly urge drone operators to use common sense and think about the potential high risk associated with their use around the airports both here and in Alderney’.

The first thing I am interested in is how they found Mr Wicks.

Second thing, I have heard of fines but destroying his machine. That’s a bit steep. They certainly were keen to set an example.

Founder and Editor of sUAS News | Gary Mortimer has been a commercial balloon pilot for 25 years and also flies full-size helicopters. Prior to that, he made tea and coffee in air traffic control towers across the UK as a member of the Royal Air Force.